Fixing Steel

tinca

Hey,

I am in the process of erecting steel structure (corner lintel and two posts). The engineer I spoke with suggested fixing the ends of the lintel to the blockwork it bears on so there are two holes on each bearing part of the steel to allow fixing to masonry... my question - is it necessary to tie steel and masonry as suggested or should the 150mm bearing be sufficient (along with two structural posts) and if it is necessary what is the best method of securing this junction, ie can something be drilled into 100mm block leaf or would it be advisable to replace bearing block with concrete and have bolts projecting up from it to secure steel? If you get me

JOSHUA07

Are you sure your Architect does not mean the end of the vertical posts?

tinca

thanks for the reply no the posts have their own plates that fix to the ground, the two ends of the corner lintel are the parts in question, i.e. the part that bears on the blockwork... it would result in the steel bearing its load on the blockwork but also being anchored to the blockwork. I believe his thinking was that there is a slight canopy projecting off the lintel and that anchoring the steel at eaves level would strengthen against wind loads (south west facing low rise canopy)

Solid65

tinca - ask your Engineer what the purpose of the fixings are. Although that connection wouldn't be typical, the Engineer may be trying to restrain the arrangement against lateral wind loads. If they are small enough it may be a cheaper alternative to moment connections at your post bases. Its unlikely a detail like that will be specified to resist uplift without straps, etc.
Connections into masonry can be very difficult to design for. There are a lot of variable between the concrete yard and the blocklayer that many companies won't commit to reasonable resistance loads. If you install a RC padstone under the lintels with identical block dimensions you can install the anchors with less likelihood of cracking - and greater load resistance from the fixings.

muffler

Read the forum charter please lads. We dont allow discussion on structural issues.

Thread closed.